Fire extinguisher



June 20, 1939. E H WARR Er AL 2,163,477

FIRE EXTINGUISHER Filed Dec. 1, 1937 Patented June 20, 1939 UNITEDSTATES FIRE EXTINGUISHER Application December l, 1937, Serial No.177,580

4 Claims.

This invention relates to a fire extinguisher and more particularly to afire extinguisher of the hand actuated type in which powder is utilizedas the nre extinguishing medium.

Prior to my invention, many types of hand operated fire extinguishershave been known but such devices have been cumbersome, relativelydifficult to operate, subject to jamming, contain many parts, and arerelatively expensive to fabricate. Those extinguishers which have beenso constructed as to operate satisfactorily, invariably haveincorporated in their construction accurately machined parts, or partsotherwise difficult to produce, which are relatively expensive tomanufacture. These difficulties have prevented the wide use of this typeof extinguisher.

VIt is an object of the invention to provide a fire extinguisher of fewparts, of simple, inexpensive, and foolproof construction as Well as anextinguisher that is commercially practicable.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from thefollowing description taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawing, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a reduced longitudinal section of a fire extinguisher andsupporting bracket therefor illustrating one application of theinvention;

Fig. 2, a section on line 2 2 of Fig. l;

Fig. 3, a section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1 showing the discharge end ofthe pump cylinder with the flexible valve removed;

Fig; 4, a perspective of the resilient valve; and

Fig. 5, a plan View of the discharge end of the extinguisher.

Referring to the drawing, the fire extinguisher comprises an outercasing or body portion Il] cooperating directly with a substantiallyfunnel shaped or frusto-conical end portion II which forms the dischargeend of the extinguisher. The other end of body portion I may be providedwith a closure I2. The substantially frustoconical end portion ll may beof metal or the like and is preferably provided with a tip I3 of adissimilar material, such as for example rubber composition or the like.The difference in materials serves to eliminate corrosion and theaccompanying undesired bond between the elements which prevents theirbeing separated. The tip I3 may be provided with discharge orifices I4which are set at a slight angle to the axis of the casing to form afocal point, not shown, in order to direct in a better manner the fireextinguishing powder P discharged.

Within the casing I0 and in concentric relation thereto is mounted apump cylinder I5 having a discharge end provided with a valve V spacedinwardly of the end of the cylinder so that a clear space is provided toprevent interference of the powder with the valve mechanism. As shown acup shaped element C, see Fig. 3, is pressed into the end of the pumpcylinder I5, said element being provided with a curved portion i6 havingorifices I'I formed therein. The orifices I1 may be symmetrically orasymmetrically arranged and include a center orifice and four or moreside orifices as depicted in Fig. 3. These orifices are arranged to beclosed by valve body V which may be fabricated of rubber or otherflexible material substantially rivet shaped, comprising a head I8, seeFig. 4, an axial stem portion I9, and a valve stop 2Q. This valve stop2E is so arranged as to permit its being forced through the centerorifice of the orifices I'I, the axial stem I9 filling the centerorifice and holding the head l in operative relation to close the Valveorifices ll. With the above recited construction, negative pressureabove the valve body will permit air to be exhausted from the pumpcylinder I5 but will exclude powder from the pump cylinder.

The upper ends of cylinder Il) and pump cylinder I5 are capped byclosure i2. An internal disc 2l within the upper end of cylinder I5formed of suitable material, such as wood or the like, is provided withan external cap 22 to form the head of the fire extinguisher. A pump rod23 is arranged to extend through said disc and cap and is provided atits lower end with a piston 2t comprising a metal disc 25, a leather cuppacking 26, and a resilient packing spreader 2l Whereby the piston 24%in cooperation with cylinder l5 and valve V will operate on its downwardstroke to force air through the orifices Il in cup member C past thehead i8 of the valve V, forcing the fire extinguishing powder P throughdischarge orifices I4 on to the fire to be extinguished. On the upstroke of the piston 2li the leather cup packing does not effect a sealbetween the piston 24 and the cylinder I5 and permits air to enter thatportion of the cylinder between the piston 2d and the cup element C.

To facilitate operation of the device, a suitable handle H may besecured to the rod 23 in any suitable manner as for example by screwthreads 28. A spring 29 may be provided at the lower portion of the rod23 with one of its ends bearing against piston 24 whereby on the upwardstroke of the piston 24 the spring 29 will engage the lower portion ofthe internal disc 2l and act as a shock absorber. Similarly a rubberwasher may be arranged about the rod 23 between the external cap 22 andthe handle H whereby shock may be absorbed on the downward stroke of thepiston 24. The cap 22 may be suitably secured to the device by screw 3lwhich may enter the disc 2l.

It is often convenient to have a fire extinguisher secured to aconvenient wall whereby it may be readily demounted therefrom and putinto play in emergencies. A wall bracket for so mounting my reextinguisher may comprise a U-shaped stamped sheet metal bracket 4lhaving a generally cone shaped nozzle supporting piece 42 securedthereto at its lower end, one of the legs of the U, and a bifurcatedportion 43 at the upper end of the bracket, the other leg of the U, for'cooperation with a handle H of the re extinguisher whereby the fireextinguisher is suitably securely mounted on said bracket and yetreadily demountable therefrom for quick action in an emergency shouldone occur. The bracket 40 may be punched to provide holes 44 and 45 inthe vertical portion of the bracket, the lower portion of the U, wherebysaid bracket may be secured to a convenient wall by suitable means suchas screws.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes maybe made in this device without departing from the spirit of theinvention and therefore the invention is not limited to what is shown inthe drawing and described in the specification but only as indicated inthe appended claims.

We claim:

l. A dry powder re extinguisher comprising a pair of elongatedcylinders, a nozzle cooperating with the outer of said cylinders whichforms a container for a quantity of fire extinguishing powder, the innercylinder having a recessed inner end wall providing with ther cylinderwalls an open ended chamber, said recessed wall having an apertureproviding communication between said chamber and inner cylinder, apiston slidably mounted in said inner cylinder, and an all rubber checkvalve carried by said recessed wall and cooperating therewith tonormally close the aperture therein, said cylinders and chamber beingarranged in normally vertical, concentric relation to each other wherebyair may be forced by said piston through said valve controlled apertureand into said open ended chamber for expansion against the body of reextinguishing powder normally disposed there beneath for the forceabledischarge of said powder through said nozzle concentrically arrangedwith respect to said chamber.

2. The structure defined in claim 1 in which said nozzle is providedwith a plurality of orices and said orifices are arranged to converge toa focal point there beyond.

3. The structure defined in claim l in which the recessed end wall iscentrally indented to provide a dome-shaped portion of materially lessdiameter than said wall having an aperture therein communicating withthe open ended chamber on one side and the inner cylinder on the other,and an all rubber valve anchored adjacent its Center to said indentedportion and having a radially extending flat underside spanning saidportion with its periphery in normally sealing engagement with the Wallthere beyond.

4. A dry powder fire extinguisher comprising a pair of elongatedconcentric cylinders, a noz zle cooperating with the outer of saidcylinders which forms a container for a body of fire eX- tinguishingpower, the inner of said cylinders having its inner end longitudinallyspaced a substantial distance from the inner end and nozzle of the othercylinder to provide therebetween an unobstructed space for theaccumulation of fire extinguishing powder, and an open ended compressionchamber formed in the inner end of said cylinder, said chambercomprising a vcup-shaped body having a relatively flat inner wallprovided with a centrally disposed indentation which is substantiallydome-shaped in cross section, apertures formed in said indented wallportion and providing communication between said inner cylinder andchamber, a substantially rivetshaped all rubber valve having its centralstem anchored in an aperture in said wall and the hat underside of itshead spanning said indented portion for normally sealing engagement withthe wall there beyond, and a piston in said inner cylinder andcooperating with said bottom wall and check Valve to compress air withinsaid open ended compression chamber and against the body of reextinguishing powder disposed between said chamber and nozzle in saidouter cylinder for the forcible discharge of said powder through saidnozzle.

FRANK C. RUSSELL.

EDWARD H. WARR.

BENJAMIN HARRY S'I'OTTER.

